Tufting machine having multiple stroke needle bars

ABSTRACT

A multiple needle tufting machine having first and second needle bars, each needle bar supporting a separate transverse row of needles, and a drive mechanism for imparting different strokes to each needle bar to cause each set of needles to penetrate a base fabric to different depths in order to form a tufted fabric having different pile heights.

United States Patent Inventor Roy T. Card Chattanooga, Tenn. 85,084

Oct. 29, 1970 Jan. 11 1972 Card & Co., Inc.

Chattanooga, Tenn.

Appl. No. Filed Patented Assignee TUFTING MACHINE HAVING MULTIPLE STROKE NEEDLE BARS 12 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 112/79 A Int. Cl D05c 15/32 Field of Search 1 12/79 R,

Primary Examiner-James R. Boler Attorney-Harrington A. Lackey ABSTRACT: A multiple needle tufting machine having first and second needle bars, each needle bar supporting a separate transverse row of needles, and a drive mechanism for imparting different strokes to each needle bar to cause each set of needles to penetrate a base fabric to different depths in order to form a tufted fabric having different pile heights.

70 47 W I f l 29 l l Z4 Z3 fl i 41 1a 4] 53 F 19 13 I5 1 Pmm ma? 1 are 3.1633523 iNvENTOR: k163 T CHRD 7 AT fORNEY TUFTING MACHINE HAVING MULTIPLE STROKE NEEDLE BARS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a tufting machine, and more particularly to a multiple needle tufting machine for forming multiple pile heights in a tufted fabric.

One method of forming multiple pile heights in a tufted fabric is to reciprocate the yarn-carrying needles through the base fabric to a uniform depth, and provide loopers set at different elevations to cooperate with the needles to engage and hold the yarns as the needles retract to their raised positions. Those loopers which are set at lower levels will pull or rob yarn from precedingly formed loops in order to form the loop pile at different depths or heights.

Another method of forming different pile heights in a tufted fabric is to individually vary the stroke of each needle according to a predetermined pattern, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,286,670 of]. H. Boyles, issued Nov. 22, 1966.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of this invention to provide, in a multiple needle tufting machine, a pair, or more, of needle bars disposed transversely of the machine, each needle bar supporting a separate row of transversely aligned needles. It is also preferred that these needle bars be mounted one above the other so that the needles from one needle bar will be spaced between the needles of the other needle bar in a vertical transverse plane. Preferably, the needles in one needle bar alternate with the needles in the other needle bar. Push rods are provided for each needle bar and eccentric mechanisms are provided for driving the push rods of each needle bar at different strokes, so that one set of needles will penetrate the fabric at a greater depth than the set of needles mounted on the other needle bar.

The tufting machine having two or more needle bars, as contemplated by this invention, is far more rugged and reliable than previous tufting machines, for producing different pile heights in a tufted fabric, particularly in a large yardage type machine operated at relatively high speeds. By causing the needles to penetrate to different depths, the robbing of yarns from previously formed loops is no longer required. Furthermore, by employing two or more transverse needle bars, each needle bar supporting a set of needles for different depths of penetration, the more intricate mechanisms for selectively controlling the stroke of each individual needle is eliminated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of a tufting machine made in accordance with this invention, in which the section through the needle bars is taken substantially along the line 1-1 of FIG. 3, and the needles are in raised position;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional elevation taken substantially along the line 22 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the needle bars and loopers in the machine disclosed in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of the needle bars, the needle bar driving mechanisms and loopers of FIG. 1, with the needles in their lowermost positions; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary front elevation of the needle bars and loopers disclosed in FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings in more detail, FIG. 1 discloses a tufting machine made in accordance with this invention including a frame or housing 11 having a bed-plate 12 upon which is supported a needle plate 13. The needle plate 13 is adapted to support in a substantially horizontal plane, a web or base fabric 15 adapted to be moved, by conventional means, not shown, in the direction of the arrow from front to rear through the machine 10.

Extending transversely of the machine 10 above the needle plate 13 is a first, upper, or long stroke needle bar 17, and in the same vertical plane, a second, lower or short stroke needle bar 18. Mounted to depend from the upper needle bar 17 are a plurality of uniformly spaced long needles 19 arranged in a transverse vertical plane, of uniform length and mounted to depend to a uniform depth. Mounted to depend from the lower needle bar 18 are a plurality of uniformly spaced, short needles 20 also preferably of uniform length and set to depend to a uniform depth. As best disclosed in FIGS. 3 and 5, the upper needles 19 are staggered equidistantly between the lower needles 20 so that there is a long needle 19 between each pair of short needles 20, and all of the needles l9 and 20 are spaced at a uniform guage.

The upper needle bar 17 is supported by a plurality of transversely spaced push rods 2 1, only one of which is shown, in the drawings.

The lower transverse needle bar 18 is also supported by a plurality of transversely spaced push rods 22, preferably alternating with the push rods 21. However, each push rod 22 must be connected to the lower needle bar 18 by means of a depending connecting device, such as the hanger bracket having front and rear walls 23 and 24 depending respectively in front of and behind the upper needle bar 17 and fixed at their lower ends to the front and rear surfaces of the lower needle bar 18. The bracket walls 23 and 24 depend far enough below the bottom of the push rod 22 to provide ample space for the upper needle bar 17 to freely reciprocate within its vertical limits, relative to the lower needle bar 18.

Since the upper needle bar 17 is vertically above the lower needle bar 18, and the needles 19 and 20 are preferably in the same vertical transverse plane, then the lower needle bar 18 is provided with vertical needle passages 26 slightly larger than the axially aligned with the long needles 19 to permit free passage of each long needle 19 through a corresponding needle hole 26.

Each push rod, such as 22, is adapted to vertically reciprocate within the sleeve or bearing 28 in the housing 11. The upper end of the push rod 22 is pivotally connected by pin 29 to the lower end of link arm 30, the upper end of which is pivotally connected by pin 31 through a short radius hole, such as 32, in drive lever 33 fixed to rock shaft 34. The rock shaft 34 supports a plurality of drive levers 33, there being one drive lever 33 for each push rod 22 and 21. However, the upper end of each push rod 21 is pivotally connected by a pin, shown in phantom behind pin 29 in FIG. 1, to a link arm 35, the upper end of which is pivotally connected by a pin 36 inserted through a long radius hole, such as 32' in the drive lever immediately behind the drive lever 33 disclosed in FIG. 1.

One end of the rock shaft 34 is fixed to a rock lever 38 pivotally connected by pin 29 to the upper end of a long link bar 40. The lower end of link bar 40 terminates in a pin 41 adjustably joumaled in an elongated slot 42 in the arm 43 of a bell crank 44 mounted upon pivot shaft 45. The opposite arm of bell crank 44 is pivotally connected by pin 46 to the lower end of an eccentric arm 47. The upper end of the eccentric arm 47 is journaled about the rotary cam 48 fixed to the needle shaft 49 in a manner well known in the art. Thus, as the machine 10 is operating by virtue of the continuous rotation of the needle shaft 49 by motive means, not shown, the rock shaft 34 is continuously reciprocated to move the drive levers 33 from an upper position disclosed in FIG. 1 to a lower position disclosed in FIG. 4.

As best disclosed in FIGS. 1 and 4, because of the connection of the link arm 30 to the short radius hole 32 through pin 31 and the connection of the link arm 35 to the long radius hole 32' through pivot pin 36, the stroke of the push rods 21 will be greater or longer than the stroke of the push rods 22. Thus, the long needles 19 on the upper needle bar 17 will have a longer stroke and therefore penetrate the fabric 15 to a greater depth than the lower or shorter needles 20 mounted upon the lower needle bar 19. Since the upper positions of the levers 33 is substantially horizontal, the upper ends of the link arms 30 and 35 are also substantially horizontally aligned so that the tips of the needles 20 and 19 will be almost at the same level above the base fabric at the upper limit of the needle stroke. However, as the drive levers 33 move down, the distances between the tips of the long needles 19 gradually increases over the tips of the lower needles 20 until the greatest distance between the needle tips is reached at the lowermost position of the stroke of the needles 19 and 20, disclosed in F I68. 4 and 5.

if desired, yarns 51 and 52 may be fed through fixed yarn guides 53 and yarn jerkers 54 to the respective needles l9 and 20 so that they may be carried by needles 19 and 20 as they penetrate to their lowermost position disclosed in FIGS. 4 and 5.

Loopers, such as upper loop hooks 55 and lower loop hooks 56, may be carried in a conventional manner by hook bars 57 upon rocker arms 58 to be reciprocated by the hook shaft 59 by motive means, not shown.

To produce cut pile, knives 60 are mounted on knife bar 61 which is adapted to be rocked or reciprocated in timed relationship with the hook shaft 59 by knife shaft 62. Of course, the upper loop hooks 55 are adapted to cooperate with the short needles 20, while the lower loop hooks 56 are adapted to cooperate with the longer needles 19 to form, with the knives 60, short cut tufts or cut pile 65 and long cut tufts or cut pile 66.

Thus, since the needles 19 and 20 alternate upon a uniform guage, the resulting tufted fabric will have alternating rows of low cut pile and high cut pile.

It will be noted, particularly in FIG. 1, that the upper needle bar 17 is spaced at the farthest point above the lower needle bar 18 when both needle bars 17 and 18 are at the uppermost extremity of their stroke. Accordingly, the lower needles 20 are much shorter than the longer needles 19 so that the tips of both needles will clear the fabric 15 in the uppermost needle position. However, as viewed in H6. 4, at the lowermost position of the needle bars 17 and 18, the needle bar 17 is closest to the lower needle bar 18, yet both needle bars 17 and 18 are still above the fabric 15, and the needles ]9 and 20 have penetrated to their lowermost positions with the longer needle 19 penetrating to its greatest depth beyond the depth of the shorter needle 20.

If the long-stroke needle bar 17 were mounted vertically below the short needle bar 18, then the short-stroke needles 20 would have to be exceptionally long, even longer than the long-stroke needles 19 because of the greater depth to which the long-stroke needle bar 17 must descend and still clear the upper surface of the base fabric 15 at the lower extremity of its stroke. Of course, the longer needle, the stronger it must be, and the greater the hazard of breakage, bending or vibration.

What is claimed is:

l. A tufting machine for forming a multiple pile height fabric comprising:

a. means supporting a base fabric for longitudinal movement in a plane through said machine,

b. a first elongated needle bar disposed transversely of said fabric supporting means,

c. a plurality of first needles mounted along said first needle bar and adapted to carry yams through said base fabric,

d. first drive means operatively connected to said first needle bar to reciprocate said first needle bar toward and away from said fabric plane through a predetermined first stroke,

e. a second elongated needle bar disposed transversely of said fabric supporting means,

f. a plurality of second needles mounted along said second needle bar and adapted to carry yarns through said base fabric,

g. second drive means operatively connected to said second needle bar to reciprocate said second needle bar toward and away from said fabric plane through a predetermined second stroke different from said first stroke. A 2. The invention according to claim 1 further comprising motive means operatively connected to said first and second drive means causing said first and second needle bars to move simultaneously toward said fabric plane and simultaneously away from said fabric plane.

3. The invention according to claim 2 in which said motive means includes a rotatable shaft, said first drive means comprises a first eccentric means having a first radius from the center of said shaft, and said second drive means comprises a second eccentric means having a second radius from the center of said shaft different from said first radius.

4. The invention according to claim 3 in which said first drive means further comprises a first push rod connected to said first needle bar and to said first eccentric means and mounted for reciprocable movement, said second drive means further comprises a second push rod connected to said second needle bar and said second eccentric means and mounted for reciprocable movement.

5. The invention according to claim 4 in which said first eccentric means comprises a first drive lever fixed to said shaft and first link means pivotally connecting said drive lever to said first push rod, said second eccentric means comprises a second drive lever fixed to said shaft and comprising second link means pivotally connecting said second drive lever to said second push rod.

6. The invention according to claim 5 in which said motive means further comprises means operatively connected to said shaft to rock said shaft through a limited arc to effect the different strokes of said needle bars.

7. The invention according to claim 1 in which said first needle bar is mounted above said second needle bar so that said first and second needles are disposed in substantially the same vertical transverse plane, and further comprising passage means through said second needle bar to permit the free reciprocable movement of said first needles relative to said second needle bar.

8. The invention according to claim 7 in which said first drive means comprises at least one vertically reciprocable first push rod connected to said first needle bar, said second drive means comprising at least one vertically reciprocable second push rod connected to said second needle bar, said first stroke being longer than said second stroke.

9. The invention according to claim 8 in which said first push rod is fixed directly to the top of said first needle bar, and further comprising bracket means connecting said second push rod to said second needle bar in spaced apart relationship, said bracket means straddling said first needle bar to permit free reciprocable movement of said first needle bar between said second push rod and said second needle bar.

10. The invention according to claim 7 in which said passage means comprises a vertical hole extending through said second needle bar receiving each first needle for free vertical reciprocable movement therethrough.

11. The invention according to claim 7 in which each first needle is equidistantly spaced between a pair of second needles so that said first and second needles alternate on a uniform needle guage.

12. The invention according to claim 1 in which said first needles are mounted in said first needle bar to extend to a uniform depth, said second needles are mounted in said second needle bar to depend to a uniform depth different from the depth of said first needles in the lowermost positions of said needles, means for feeding a yarn to each of said needles, a first looper adapted to cooperate with each of said first needles at said uniform depth in its lowermost position for forming a first set of pile loops, a second looper adapted to cooperate with each of said second needles in its lowermost position to form a second set of pile loops.

t: a: a: 

1. A tufting machine for forming a multiple pile height fabric comprising: a. means supporting a base fabric for longitudinal movement in a plane through said machine, b. a first elongated needle bar disposed transveRsely of said fabric supporting means, c. a plurality of first needles mounted along said first needle bar and adapted to carry yarns through said base fabric, d. first drive means operatively connected to said first needle bar to reciprocate said first needle bar toward and away from said fabric plane through a predetermined first stroke, e. a second elongated needle bar disposed transversely of said fabric supporting means, f. a plurality of second needles mounted along said second needle bar and adapted to carry yarns through said base fabric, g. second drive means operatively connected to said second needle bar to reciprocate said second needle bar toward and away from said fabric plane through a predetermined second stroke different from said first stroke.
 2. The invention according to claim 1 further comprising motive means operatively connected to said first and second drive means causing said first and second needle bars to move simultaneously toward said fabric plane and simultaneously away from said fabric plane.
 3. The invention according to claim 2 in which said motive means includes a rotatable shaft, said first drive means comprises a first eccentric means having a first radius from the center of said shaft, and said second drive means comprises a second eccentric means having a second radius from the center of said shaft different from said first radius.
 4. The invention according to claim 3 in which said first drive means further comprises a first push rod connected to said first needle bar and to said first eccentric means and mounted for reciprocable movement, said second drive means further comprises a second push rod connected to said second needle bar and said second eccentric means and mounted for reciprocable movement.
 5. The invention according to claim 4 in which said first eccentric means comprises a first drive lever fixed to said shaft and first link means pivotally connecting said drive lever to said first push rod, said second eccentric means comprises a second drive lever fixed to said shaft and comprising second link means pivotally connecting said second drive lever to said second push rod.
 6. The invention according to claim 5 in which said motive means further comprises means operatively connected to said shaft to rock said shaft through a limited arc to effect the different strokes of said needle bars.
 7. The invention according to claim 1 in which said first needle bar is mounted above said second needle bar so that said first and second needles are disposed in substantially the same vertical transverse plane, and further comprising passage means through said second needle bar to permit the free reciprocable movement of said first needles relative to said second needle bar.
 8. The invention according to claim 7 in which said first drive means comprises at least one vertically reciprocable first push rod connected to said first needle bar, said second drive means comprising at least one vertically reciprocable second push rod connected to said second needle bar, said first stroke being longer than said second stroke.
 9. The invention according to claim 8 in which said first push rod is fixed directly to the top of said first needle bar, and further comprising bracket means connecting said second push rod to said second needle bar in spaced apart relationship, said bracket means straddling said first needle bar to permit free reciprocable movement of said first needle bar between said second push rod and said second needle bar.
 10. The invention according to claim 7 in which said passage means comprises a vertical hole extending through said second needle bar receiving each first needle for free vertical reciprocable movement therethrough.
 11. The invention according to claim 7 in which each first needle is equidistantly spaced between a pair of second needles so that said first and second needles alternate on a uniform needle guage.
 12. The invention according to claim 1 in which said first needles are mounted in said first needle bar to extend to a uniform depth, said second needles are mounted in said second needle bar to depend to a uniform depth different from the depth of said first needles in the lowermost positions of said needles, means for feeding a yarn to each of said needles, a first looper adapted to cooperate with each of said first needles at said uniform depth in its lowermost position for forming a first set of pile loops, a second looper adapted to cooperate with each of said second needles in its lowermost position to form a second set of pile loops. 